Wikipedia has temporarily blocked edits from the US Department of Justice

[Modbert]

Wikipedia has temporarily blocked edits from the US Department of Justice « UK Citizens Extradition Fight

Wikipedia has temporarily blocked edits from the US Department of Justice after someone inside the government agency tried to erase references to a particularly-controversial Wiki-scandal.

Early last week, the Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) was accused of organizing a secret campaign to influence certain articles on the “free encyclopedia anyone can edit”. Just days later, the DoJ’s IP range was used to edit the site’s entry on the Pro-Israel “media-monitoring group,” lifting a new section that detailed the controversy.

The DoJ did not respond to our requests for comment. But odds are, the edits were made by a single individual acting independently. Wikipedia’s ban on the department’s IP is due to be lifted today.

On April 21, the Pro-Palestine site Electronic Intifada published a series of emails in which CAMERA Senior Research Analyst Gilead Ini seems to enlist volunteers to help “keep Israel-related entries on Wikipedia from becoming tainted by anti-Israel editors”. Ini asks these volunteers to avoid forwarding his emails to the news media and invites them onto a Google Group called “Isra-pedia.”

In an email to The Reg, Ini declined to say if the messages published by Electronic Intifada were genuine, but he acknowledged that CAMERA recently ran an email campaign meant to promote edits that “ensure accuracy” on certain Wikipedia articles.

On the alleged Isra-pedia thread – also published by Electronic Intifada – one longtime Wikipedia editor gives volunteers a primer on how to become a site administrator. “There is in Wikipedia the ability by an administrator to set significant limits on other editor [sic],” he writes. “One or more of you who want to take this route should stay away from any Israel realted [sic] articles for month [sic] until they [sic] interact in a positive way with 100 Wikipedia editors who would be used later to vote you as an administrator.”

This Wikipedia editor, known as “Zeq,” and several others involved with the CAMERA emails were subsequently sanctioned. Some were barred from editing topics involving the Arab-Israeli conflict, and at least one – “Gni,” believed to be Ini – was banned from the site entirely.

In the wake of these sanctions, a paragraph on the scandal was added to Wikipedia’s CAMERA article, and on two separate occasions, someone inside the DoJ tried to remove it. The user also made a few questionable edits to other articles, and the DoJ’s entire IP was banned for four days.

Thoughts?

 

[Yurt]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

 

[Si modo]

DoJ employees better renew their training on what they are permitted to do while using a government system.

 

[Modbert]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

Funny, that post had nothing to do with Obama. Why not focus on the actual thread?

 

[Foxfyre]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

Funny, that post had nothing to do with Obama. Why not focus on the actual thread?

While I agree that turning this into anothe Obama bashing thread will hijack the thread topic, I don't agree that a scandal involving the Justice Dept. has nothing to do with the Obama Administration who appoints and supervises the head of Justice. Obama may have had absolutely nothing to do with the scandal, but if he fails to address it, once advised, he becomes accessory, consenting, and equally guilty.

 

[JenyEliza]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

Wow!

Just wow!

 

[Modbert]

Of course, few address what the DoJ was actually doing. How hilarious. They're willing to add blame to Obama and talk about how wrong it is. But none are talking about what exactly they're doing.

 

[Yurt]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

Funny, that post had nothing to do with Obama. Why not focus on the actual thread?

lol....the DOJ is not part of the obama administration....your ignorance is astonishing

 

[Modbert]

lol....the DOJ is not part of the obama administration....your ignorance is astonishing

Ignorance? No. You want to turn this into another Obama bashing thread. Address the damn topic or go make another topic.

 

[Yurt]

lol....the DOJ is not part of the obama administration....your ignorance is astonishing

Ignorance? No. You want to turn this into another Obama bashing thread. Address the damn topic or go make another topic.

do you deny that the DOJ is part of the obama admin?

 

[Modbert]

do you deny that the DOJ is part of the obama admin?

Not denying that, however, I'm going to ask you nicely again, stop trolling my damn thread. Show some respect or at least courtesy.

 

[Si modo]

 

[eagleseven]

Department of Justice.

A misnomer?

 

[Si modo]

Department of Justice.

A misnomer?

Yup.

 

[blu]

obama's admin falsely manipulating facts and data.....shocker

your ignorance hurts

 

[Valerie]

do you deny that the DOJ is part of the obama admin?

Not denying that, however, I'm going to ask you nicely again, stop trolling my damn thread. Show some respect or at least courtesy.

Get off your cross, Robert...You asked for THOUGHTS and he gave his...

 

[Valerie]

Thoughts?

 

[Modbert]

Get off your cross, Robert...You asked for THOUGHTS and he gave his...

I'm on the cross? No. I asked for thoughts, obviously pertaining to this topic. If people want to be rude and intentionally derail this thread, go ahead but do it elsewhere.

 

[Si modo]

 

[Yurt]

do you deny that the DOJ is part of the obama admin?

Not denying that, however, I'm going to ask you nicely again, stop trolling my damn thread. Show some respect or at least courtesy.

how is stating that the DOJ is part of the obama admin trolling? are you this stupid in real life? you asked for thoughts but apparently you're such a partisan hack that is truly disturbs you if someone calls the DOJ apart of your messiah's admin....

amazing how calling the DOJ part of the obama admin is somehow not showing respect or courtesy.....you're weird